Put it all together

This is the heart of the course. If you have done the practice tasks, you have not just learned about dissertations, you have been building your own the whole way through. This capstone pulls every piece into one place.

By now, working on your real project, you should have produced:

1. A topic and a sharp research question (from Starting Your Dissertation)
2. A one page proposal with your question, why it matters, and your method
3. A list of verified, real sources with your own notes on each
4. The gap your dissertation fills, in one sentence
5. A chapter outline shaped to your project
6. A main argument in one sentence, with its weak points strengthened
7. A realistic timeline working back from your deadline
8. Real draft paragraphs in your own voice, edited for clarity
9. A reference list in your department's style
10. An AI disclosure statement that honestly describes how you used AI

If any of these is missing, that is your next task. Go back to the lesson it came from and complete its practice on your real dissertation.

This is what "by the time you finish, you can write it" means. You are not starting from a blank page. You are assembling work you have already done, all of it yours.

Practice

Open your working document. Make a checklist of the ten items above. Tick the ones you have. For each one you are missing, write the date you will finish it, then go and do the first one now.